


Tell me a story

by who_seeks_shall_find



Series: Life as I see it [66]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Love, Snacks & Snack Food, post-season 6, stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 08:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15626526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/who_seeks_shall_find/pseuds/who_seeks_shall_find
Summary: Raisa tells a few stories about Oliver.





	Tell me a story

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of a series about Oliver's imprisonment and a year after it. This drabble takes place after Oliver's imprisonment. He has been out of prison for 358 days.
> 
> The series will be updated once a day (if it's just possible). It's going to include 122 drabbles about Oliver, Felicity, William and other characters who are involved in their lives. It's going to take approximately four months to finish the series. The drabbles are linked to each other but they're NOT in a CHRONOLOGICAL order. That's why, there may also be gaps or blanks which are filled in later.
> 
> I wish that every character is respected without unnecessary hatred.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

William stood behind the front door of his home as he looked for his keys. He kept digging his back bag and accidentally he dropped his writing assignment. William sighed deeply and picked it up. He looked at the blank paper and wrinkled his nose. He had written nothing else but the title because he had no idea what he was going to write.

The assignment was about telling his parents and grandparents. William knew many things about his biological mother and her parents but he knew next to nothing about his dad’s past or parents. Oliver hated talking about what had happened to him and he rarely mentioned his parents. William assumed it was because they both were dead and the circumstances had been traumatic to his dad. 

William stuffed the paper back to his back bag and tried to ignore it without succeeding. He took his keys out of his back bag and opened the front door as he kept thinking of the writing assignment. He didn’t want to press his dad to talk about his traumatic experiences but his tight-lipped tendencies made writing the paper very hard for William. 

Oliver didn’t even talk about his beautiful memories. Of course, sometimes William got a glimpse from here and there but Oliver never stopped to tell stories about his childhood, teenage years or twenties. William had no idea what Oliver had been like when he had been at William’s age. William didn’t know if his dad had played baseball or if he had already liked cooking back then.

William let an annoyed huff before yelling: “I’m home.”

Raisa came from the kitchen and smiled at him sweetly. She was drying her hands with a small kitchen towel as she walked over to William and greeted him: “Hi, William.”

“Hi, Raisa,” William answered and grinned widely at her. 

William absolutely loved Raisa and her wise words. She didn’t talk much but when she did, she was calm and thoughtful. She had been there for William when he had moved to Star City and she had helped him when he had struggled to get to know his dad. She had always had William’s back and William appreciated her calming presence. The bond between them was strong and it based on trust. Besides, she was an excellent cook.

Raisa patted William’s cheek and asked: “Are you hungry?”

William shrugged and smiled at her sheepishly. Raisa snorted and stated: “Of course, you are hungry. You’re a teenage boy. You love to eat all the time.”

William barked out a laugh and answered: “I love to eat because you’re such a great cook.”

Raisa narrowed her eyes at William and William looked at her with confusion. Then Raisa mumbled cryptically as she offered William a small smile. “Like father, like son.” 

“What do you mean?” William asked and laughed nervously.

“You both are charmers. You give a small compliment and a smile and suddenly everyone loves you,” Raisa huffed out amused.

William let out a relieved sigh and responded playfully: “I think my dad is way better charmer than I am.”

“Mr. Oliver just knows more tricks because he has lived longer than you. However, he was just like you when he was at your age. His charm was just irresistible and he knew it very well when he got older,” Raisa answered and wrapped her arm around William’s shoulder.

She accompanied William to the kitchen and offered him a sandwich as William sat down. William leaned his shoulders on the counter and played with his fingers. He took a quick look of Raisa and turned his gaze down. William didn’t touch the sandwich but he thought about asking Raisa to tell stories of Oliver’s childhood. William was sure Raisa knew many things and she could help William with his paper. Yet, it felt like intruding his father’s personal space without his consent. 

Raisa frowned a little when she noticed William’s thoughtful expression. She asked worriedly: “Is everything okay, William?”

William lifted his gaze and looked straight into Raisa’s eyes. He bit his bottom lip before asking hesitantly: “Are my dad and Felicity still working?”

Raisa nodded in answer and asked: “Do you want me to call them and ask them to come home earlier than usual? Has something happened at school?”

William shook his head vigorously and rushed reassure her: “No, no. Nothing bad has happened. I just…”

Raisa raised an eyebrow and waited for William to continue. William took a deep breath that he exhaled slowly. Then he blurted out: “Could you tell me about my dad’s childhood?”  
Raisa looked a bit surprised and her eyebrows jumped up. She hesitated for a while but finally she cleared her throat and said: “I think you should ask Mr. Oliver to tell you about his childhood.”

Then she added quietly: “It’s not my place to share his stories. I’m just a lady who helps around.”

“Please, Raisa. You’re not a servant. We respect you greatly and we care about you,” William said convinced. He couldn’t believe how little Raisa thought of herself and her place in their lives.

She smiled at William sweetly and William her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. She whispered: “Thank you, William. You’re such a sweet young man with a big heart – just like your dad.”

William returned the smile and took a bite of his sandwich. When his mouth was full of food, he asked: “Could you now tell me something. It’s for my school assignment.”

“I can tell you a few stories if you close your mouth. You know what I think of chewing your mouth open and talking,” Raisa said admonishing and glared at William. William snapped his mouth shut and smiled at her sheepishly, giving his best impression of his dad’s puppy eyes.

Raisa tried to hide her smile as she mumbled more to herself than to William: “Such a charmer.”

“What do you want to know?” Raisa asked after sighing deeply.

William took another bite of his sandwich as he thought about it. Finally, he pleaded: “Could you tell me about my dad’s friends and his parents?”

Raisa smiled at her own memories before she started: “Mr. Oliver’s best friend was Tommy Merlyn. He was also very handsome young man with a complicated background. They got in so many troubles when they were younger. They were good boys but sometimes their behaviour was just unacceptable. They didn’t care about rules or what was expected.”

William nodded and he tried to digest what he had just heard. William had heard about Tommy Merlyn and he knew how much his dad missed him. William had tried to ask about Tommy when he had heard about fake Tommy crashing Oliver’s court session. Yet, Oliver didn’t want to talk about Tommy. According to Felicity, it was too painful to Oliver because he still blamed himself for Tommy’s death. 

After a while, William asked keenly: “How about my grandparents?” 

Raisa became a bit more serious as she told William about Moira and Robert Queen. She said: “Robert Queen was a formal man who loved his family. He was a wise business man but his children were the most important thing to him. He was ready to sacrifice himself for his son. He made many mistakes, but in the end he was a good and brave man with a good heart.”

William nodded again. He chewed his bottom lip as Raisa continued: “Moira Queen was a complicated personality and nobody wanted to make her angry. She was a loving mother who had a strong will. She was ready to do anything to keep her children safe. She didn’t care about the consequences as long as her children and their fortune were safe.”

William had felt a bang in his chest while Raisa had been telling about William’s grandmother. William was well aware of the fact that she didn’t want William or Samantha anywhere near Oliver. William tried to ignore the pain but he couldn’t understand what had made him so unlovable even before he had been born. William would have loved to get to know his grandparents but apparently Moira Queen hadn’t wanted to get to know him.

William gulped and looked down at his sandwich. Raisa put her index finger under William’s chin and lifted it until their eyes met. It was like she had read his mind and she whispered: “You’re so loved. Don’t ever doubt that.”

William took a deep breath and nodded. Raisa let go of William’s chin and went on: “I can see Mr. and Mrs. Queen in Mr. Oliver. He takes after them in the way he loves you, William. Mr. Oliver will do anything for you and he will always protect you. Mr. Oliver is a smart man who knows the value of true love. He’s unwaveringly loyal and he wants to offer you a good but real life. The same goes to Ms. Felicity. She loves you like Mrs. Queen loved his son and she would do anything to keep you safe. You're her sweet boy like Oliver was Mrs. Queen's.”

As soon as Raisa was finished, William sniffled and he took a shaky breath. He needed some time to digest everything that Raisa had told him. He trusted in his dad and his love - most of the time. Sometimes William just felt like his dad didn’t trust him. William wanted his dad to share his stories and decisions.

**Author's Note:**

> Update for tomorrow:  
> William is upset when he thinks about how his grandmother didn't want him to be part of Oliver's life.
> 
> (I'm going to travel middle of nowhere and I'm not sure if there's a wifi connection. My apologies if there are any difficulties and a few updates are late.)


End file.
